Nevada County picayune., 1887-02-02
PRESCOTT NEVADA COUNTY ARKANSAS WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8

over his head and give three cheers for Texas. Truly we could have said of him, as was said of Jackson. ,"There stands Anderson like a column of granite"
 About ? o'clock in the afternoon news reached us that one of the gunDoats had passed the fort. This surprised but did not dannt us. The flag on the gunboat had become blackened by the smoke, and the men in the fort sent word down the line that the Yankees had raised the black flag; but we did not mind that, for we were cer- tain that we would lick them out of their boots. About an hour at- ter the gunbOat passed the fort an order came down the line to raise the white dag. Wea first thought it was d mistake, and that it was the Yankees who were raising the white flag, but casting our eyes to- ward the fort We saw the white flag run up; but it had hardly been raised before some one tore 1t down. The fighting then continu- ed q short time longer, when an order again came down the line to raise the white flag. This time it was raised and left flying over the fort, and the men in the ditches seeing it. also raised it. Miller of our company had white pocket handkerchief, with which he was wiping his face at the time of the surrender, and lieutenant of an. other company ordered him to aflix his handkerchief to his ram rod and raise if. Miller was
 ABOUT TO EXECUTE THE ORDER
 when Martin Braden cooked and drew his gun on him. at the same time exclaimilg: "Ill kill any man in Go. K that raises the white flag" The lieutenant then took the handkerchief and raised it him self. When the Yankees saw our white flags they gave cheer and rushed up to us, an officer on horseback leading them. Tue of. ticer rode direct for Col. Ander- sou, and when he got up to us he cast his eyes up and down the ditcheS and then, ln tone of sur prise, said to Col. Anderson: "Colouel, where's your deadw .In the ditches J replied Col. Ander- son. The Yankees, knowing that it was impossible for us to remove them, expected to find our dltches filled with killed and wounded. We then marched out of our works and stacked our arms, and thus ended the battle of Arkansas Post. The ending was a great humilia- ton to us, yet We had nothing to be ashamed of. We had 3,100 men, the Yankees, so they told us, 10000. We had one battery of six -pounders, the Yankees num- Der of twelve and 1 believe twen- ty-four pound batteries, while our fort, with it's three old smooth bore cauu0n, was marched against tue nine gunboats with their splen- did arlnalaeuts and superior riied csunon. At the time of the sur render we had but one serviceable gun lett-a six pounder. 1 cannot understand why Gen. Churchill made the fight at Arkansas Post, as he must have known of the su- periority oi the enemy. The fol- lowing story was told at the time: It was said that Gen. Holmes, commanding the department, was engaged to be married to n widow who owned . very fine plantation just above Arkansas Post, as he was anxious to prevent this plan tation being pillaged by the Yan. kees. he ordered Gen. Churchill to hold on at all hazards, The mar riage, so the story went, was to have taken place at Pine Bluff on the Sunday morning of the battle, but the widow, hearing the guns at Arkansas Post, informed the gen eral that his duty demanded that he should be at the front, fighting with his men, instead of at the rear, making love to the women, and then refused to marry him. Of course this story was not true, out 1t was pretty generally believed at the time.
 LEON FREMoN,
 En K GixtL Tnxns InfanfrN